GEOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL CONTROLS ON THE PRODUCIBILITY OF COALBED METHANE

Geological and hydrological comparison Of two United States coalbed methane basins, the prolific San Juan Basin and the marginally producing Sand Wash Basin, indicates that coal distribution and rank, gas content, permeability, ground-water flow, and depositional and structural setting are critical controls on coalbed methane producibility. A complex interplay, and moreover, a synergy amongst these controls determines high productivity. This paper proposes a basin-scale explanation for the prolific and marginal production in the two basins and that can be applied to evaluation of coalbed methane potential in coal basins worldwide. High productivity is governed by (1) thick, laterally continuous coals of high thermal maturity, (2) basinward flow of ground water through coals of high rank and gas content orthogonally toward no-flow boundaries (regional hingelines, fault systems, facies changes, and/or discharge areas), and (3) conventional trapping along those boundaries to provide additional gas beyond that sorbed on the coal surface.